House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez commended his fellow legislators at the House of Representatives for having approved around 1,600 measures on the third reading since the start of the 18th Congress.

During his speech before the sine die adjournment on Wednesday, Romualdez said that despite the pandemic, House employees worked “beyond the call of duty in order to make the 18th Congress one of the most productive ever.”

He said that out of the 1,600 bills approved by Congress, more than 300 have been enacted into law.

Among those signed into law was the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, specifically written to help mitigate the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and bring economic relief to Filipinos.

“While almost everybody locked themselves in their homes for safety in the first few months of community quarantine, House members and employees went out of their way to report for work and perform their duties diligently,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez also shared that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released a total of P646.97 billion to support the implementation of the Bayanihan Laws.

Of the total, P387.17 billion was released under Republic Act (RA) 11469 or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 1).

Meanwhile, releases under RA 11465 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) amounted to P259.80 billion.